It may be no surprise to pro-life advocates that a new study published in the July 2016 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Sage Open Medicine confirms women who have abortions run a significantly increased risk of mental health disorders and substance abuse. But the research offers an important boon to pro-life groups in the United States, where scientific evidence showing the harmful consequences of abortion for women has been scarce because available data is inconsistent and limited.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not require states to submit abortion data. Each state sets its own reporting laws and many don’t report at all. States that do provide information have no uniformity in the type of data they submit.An extensive analysis of state abortion reporting, published by the Charlotte Lozier Institute in August 2016, found abortion reporting is weakest in states that rank highest in abortion rates, including New York, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, Florida, and California.Because researchers have no reliable way to track abortion information, most studies they conduct on the topic have been statistically flawed. In 2008, an American Psychological Association task force conducted an evaluation of the scientific studies on abortion and mental health difficulties published since 1989. They found the majority of studies suffered from severe methodological problems.